Chance
by letsbefwb
Summary: This came from a prompt on tumblr. Emily joins Caleb at a concert and can't help but stare at the drummer, Paige


**A/N: So this story actually came from a prompt on Tumblr but it kind of grew on me as I was writing it so there's probably going to be a part 2 and maybe so on and so forth. I have not abandon the Doccubus fic (We Will Find Our Way Back) and neither have I abandon the other Paily fic (Fight For Me) but well those 2 are definitely going to be longer multi-chapter fics so I'm kind of stuck in a rut for those 2. THAT doesn't mean I won't finish them though.. _I just need more time._ So I hope you guys enjoy this one and P.S. I could go into a list of reasons why I took so long to write but lets not bore you guys so enjoy this one! Last but not least, I would like to apologise for my tardiness in updating/writing. As always comments are deeply appreciated and of course you could skip reading this lengthy author's note**

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"Oh C'mon Emily, Hanna can't make it and these tickets were really hard to come by!"

"Am I your last choice of company?" Emily feigns mock indignance as she teases Caleb. She knew she would say yes to him eventually, seeing as they have grown closer ever since he saved her from a psycho stalker a few months back, plus the fact that he is currently making a really good attempt at mimicking the sad puppy look, which she knew even Hanna was not immune to.

"No! of course not. Infact I knew you were secretly trying to get tickets for this" Caleb make a show of waving the tickets slowly infront of the raven-haired girl with a smirk on his face.

Throwing up her hands in surrender, Emily huffed out "Fine fine, I admit that I did try getting the tickets but I couldn't so I ended up putting in an extra shift at The Brew, you know I can't possibly back out of work now Caleb! Speaking of which, how did you even manage to get the tickets? They are crazy expensive and very much sold out that last I checked." Emily gave the boy a quizzical look as Caleb all but ignores her question.

"C'mon Em, it will be worth your while and you know you wanna see them just as much. Besides this is the last leg of their tour before they go on a recording hiatus" Caleb paused for a moment before rolling his eyes "Don't give me that look Ms Fields, I did not do anything illegal to get my hands on them. So can we please move this along? Besides I heard The Ruse has a really hot drummer too, who well seems… totally your type for lady loving" He chuckled inwardly when he saw a look of surprise on Emily's face, glad that he could so easily diverge his friend's attention to her love life.

"Yes yes. Of course you would know about that…" Emily paused as she narrowed her eyes before frowning slightly, "and what do you mean exactly by 'my type' Mr Rivers? How would you know?" It piqued Emily's curiosity. It had been quite some time since Maya and her had broken up and to add on to that Maya St Germain was her first serious relationship ever since she came out. Hanna did her part, trying to play matchmaker. But well, it is not love when it's forced and Emily Fields just isn't someone who dates around or get swept off her feet easily, metaphorically speaking of course. The one thing she was sure of were the wants and don't-wants in her relationships. As a close friend up till now, Caleb is the one person among all her friends who had respected her space enough to not play any role in the other girls' plans to hook her up.

Being too caught up over the fact her friend knew what and who's her type, was unsettling enough without adding on, that now he might be part of mission "Hook'Em up" (as Hanna had coined it), she did not catch on to what Caleb was saying till he started moving towards the entrance of The Brew. "So it's on. It's at The Mann Center so I'll pick you up at 6:30 and we can head there together." Emily tried to search her brain for an excuse that she can't make it but Caleb always had a way of having the last say whenever they banter. This time round is no exception.

"Hey Caleb! I didn't say that I'm going!" Emily blurted out, her last feeble attempt in declining. Turning back right before he step over the threshold, Caleb gave her another impish grin. "Oh Emily, you are going, check your phone…" and with that, he skipped right out of the door, leaving her speechless. It's really quite funny how the both of them had developed the bond that they shared now, when they hardly spoke to each other the year before. Emily shook her head as her thoughts went back to what Caleb said before he left. She had no idea what he was talking about but the boy did say to check her phone, which struck her as oddly suspicious. As Emily decidedly clear the tables before heading to the back-room to get her phone, the lunch crowd started coming in. Which meant that Caleb's cryptic message about her phone would have to wait till later as she went back to the counter to help Zach out with the growing line of snappy lunch crowd customers.

As the afternoon lunch rush wane, Emily finally had some time to herself. As her phone screen illuminated, she made a mental note to remind herself to speak to Caleb about the entitlement of privacy, that to actually access her phone without her permission and changing her wallpaper, to a picture of him with a funny face and a sunglass-wearing brunette was totally unacceptable. In the few minutes that it took for Emily to change the background in her phone to what it used to be, she finally found a copy of the picture that Caleb had saved in her photo album. As she scrutinised the picture; even going to the extent of zooming in on the face, although the brunette's face was hidden behind her sunglasses, there was something about the half smirk that she wore as an expression that Emily found strangely captivating. Just as she was about to put her phone away, the gadget vibrated indicating a message.

"So see you at 6:30 Emsy! And wear something hot and badass." Emily typed quickly while laughing to herself and rolling her eyes at Caleb's stupid nickname for her,

"I did not agree to go Caleb and besides we need to have that talk about self-entitled rights to my privacy!" The reply was nearly instantaneous, causing Emily to wonder if Caleb really only have ten fingers.

"Yeah well. See, if you are going we can have that talk then. Besides I know you've already made up your mind so just say yes already!"

Before she could reply, her phone vibrated with the indication of a second message

"One more thing Em, I've downloaded The Ruse's newest album into your phone for your listening pleasure."

"Fine fine, you are not going to let me say no anyway so see you and stay away from my phone!"

Emily chuckled to herself as she saw that Caleb had indeed taken the liberty and downloaded all the songs for her. It's really not hard to imagine for someone with his talents to be going places once they graduate. With it being just the start of senior year, things seem to be getting on to a good start. Getting to see one of the most raved about bands in Philly for the first weekend of the school year was definitely a plus, hot drummer or not, Emily is determined to enjoy herself.

"Wow. You totally rock the leather look" Caleb said as he gave Emily an appreciative once over

"Hey watch it cowboy, before I tell Hanna you actually have a crush on me." Emily joked, pulling the front of his hat over his eyes.

"Oh come on Emily, when a pretty lady is due a compliment, I give one. And just so you know this is not a cowboy's hat. It is called a fedora" Caleb laughed as he reposition his fedora.

"Whatever cowboy. C'mon let's get going, we are going to be late"

"Well look who's all excited now" Caleb muttered as he allowed himself to be dragged by his arm by an eager Emily to his car.

When they reach The Mann Center, the concert was already in full swing and judging by the turnout, it took awhile for the duo to push their way to the front. There were throngs of people everywhere with the occasional couples making out but mostly there were plenty of fans to go around for each member of The Ruse. Saying the crowd was crazy was a total understatement. As Emily turn, she could see a group of girls screaming and waving wildly off to her right, holding huge banners with the name 'Paige, We love you' in bright neon colors. There were even girls waving their undergarments in the air and some attempting to throw it in the direction of the stage as the band played on.

As Emily allows herself to enjoy the music and bask in the hype, she felt a nudge at her side. "See? So worthwhile giving up your shift at The Brew for this eh?" Caleb gestured to the crowd around him. "You just want me to tell you that you were right!" Emily retort while nudging him lightly. "Oh yes! Just say I am already. And just so you know I have someone whom I will introduce to you later, because I am such a good friend" Caleb shouted over the noise with a you-can-thank-me-later smirk on his face.

"Okay fine, you were right. Really though Caleb, thanks for this. I needed a night of fun" Emily yelled back, trying to make herself heard as the noise level around her escalated. Making a show of tipping his fedora in her direction, Caleb turn his attention back to the stage before saying cryptically "You can really thank me later"

Soon the concert came to an end and as fans yelled repeatedly for an encore, Caleb grabbed Emily's arm "C'mon lets go before we get trampled to death by these people when they realize that there's not gonna be an encore." Without waiting for an answer, he started to pull her towards the tentages at the back. "Where are we going?" Emily asked, curious. "Isn't the exit that way?" She gestured towards the exit on her left. "Nah, we are not leaving the concert yet. I wanna introduce you to someone remember?"Caleb shouted back as he near a big bulky guy wearing a shirt that says 'SECURITY'. Nodding his head in his direction, the heavyset man pulled aside the flap of the tent to let the both of them through. Standing amidst temporarily erected dressers, Emily turn to Caleb arching her eyebrow "So now even the security detail knows you?" Shrugging his shoulders noncommittally Caleb merely replied, "Well I know people who know people"

Following Caleb's pacing around the tent, Emily frown at her friend's edginess. It is as though he was hiding something from her and seemingly feeling guilty about whatever it is even. Trying to think of reasons for his weird behaviour but coming up empty, Emily gave up. "Hey Rivers, what did you do?" the brunette said out loud and couldn't help laughing a little as she saw Caleb spun around quickly, trying but failing rather terribly at feigning nonchalance at Emily's remark, looking everywhere but at her. "Huh, what are you talking about? Nothing. I did nothing…" His long bangs covering his face as he shook his head vehemently. "C'mon Caleb you know you have a bad tell when it comes to lying."

Just then, Emily saw a flash of red close to her and the next thing she knew, a redhead was tackling Caleb to the ground. As the scene unfold with the two rolling around with Caleb trying to get up and being continually pulled back to the ground amidst squeals of laughter coming from the other girl in the tent, Emily was thoroughly amused to say the least. Eventually though the racket ended as both of them fumbled to their feet.

"Oh Rivers, you have no idea how happy it makes me that you are here! I've missed you!"

"Yeah McCullers, you were so happy to see me, you had to tackle me to the ground" Caleb retort grumpily as he made a big show of flicking off non-existent dirt from his clothes.

The redhead clicked her tongue, her shoulders still shaking slightly with laughter. "You haven't change since Baltimore Caleb. Lighten up, have some fun!"

"Yeah Paige, I'm sure your definition of fun is very different from mine. Caleb answered with a roll of his eyes. "Kinda explain why you are still single huh"

"Touché Caleb, that was a hurtful comment. Take it back!" Paige was still grinning widely, not the least bit hurt or fazed by Caleb's comment.

"Oh I am so not taking that back because you know how true that is! Besides you will forget about that since I bought you a gift.." the shaggy-haired boy replied with a wink. It only took a couple of seconds before Paige's grin grew even wider.

Glancing between Caleb and the redhead, she now knew as Paige, Emily shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other. Seeing Caleb smile that way unsettles her. He had that same mischievous glint in his eyes that Hanna would sport whenever she was attempting to set Emily up on a blind date. Stealing yet another glance at Paige, the brunette was surprised to find the girl staring right back at her, adding to the apprehension that Emily was already feeling. There was just something different about the way Paige is looking at her. It wasn't those unpleasant leering looks that she got at parties from hormonal boys and girls and neither was the girl looking at her unkindly. For once Emily found it hard to place a finger on the way that Paige looked at her and even harder for the brunette to pinpoint the direction of her heart palpitations. Too preoccupied trying to figure out why Paige seem to rub off on her in such a strange way, Emily did not realise that all forms of conversation between the two other people in the tent had ceased, in fact one of them is quietly making his way out.

"I hope you are having good thoughts in that pretty little head of yours" Throaty laughter following the whispered comment to her ear caused a little slip-up in Emily's footwork. Emily saw rather than felt herself slipping and before her senses could catch up, she felt her heart skip, one beat too many. Yet it wasn't the near tumble which should have accounted for the number of beats Emily's heart seem to have skip in those mere seconds, but rather the sturdy arms that encircle her waist that instance

"I.. I.." Emily Fields stuttered, trying desperately to will the words in her head to form sentences. But words like 'hot' and 'mesmerising' makes no sense in this context.

"Thanks.." was the only syllable Emily could muster as at that very moment the girl found herself tongue tied once again and standing impossibly close to Paige. At this rate, Emily was pretty sure she would get a heart attack before the night is over. Emily shook her head in an attempt to clear her head.

Just then she felt someone grab her hand. "You coming?" Startled, Emily turn to look at Paige before looking at the hand which was holding on to hers, oddly transfixed at the sight of her hand being held.

"I can't possibly carry you so I will need you to move those beautiful long legs of yours" Paige continued with a flirtatious smirk on her face.

"Where's Caleb?" Emily asked, realisation dawning upon her that he was nowhere in sight.

"Oh, he left like 10 minutes ago. But I guess you probably didn't notice since the whole time you were staring at me." Paige replied, completely ignorant to the growing blush on Emily's face.

"Urm sorry" Emily muttered under her breath, as her face grew redder.

"What for?" Paige asked nonchalantly as she tugged on Emily's hand with a nod of her head, indicating for the girl to follow her.

"Well for staring at you. You are.." Emily paused as she tried to find an appropriate word that could explain her gawking. "Well you are intriguing.." she finished lamely, mentally berating herself for coming up with such a lame excuse.

"That's a first. I've been called many things but intriguing's definitely not one of them" Paige laugh lightly as she continued to weave her way through the crowd, keeping her head low and unwittingly gripping Emily's hand that wee bit tighter.

"Hello there, is Emily Fields in there somewhere?" Paige asked teasingly as she waited for a reply from the brunette standing in front of her.

"Huh.. what.."

"I said. Would you like to go grab dinner? You have been staring at me for the past 5 minutes and much as I love all the attention you are showering me with, I'm famished." Paige replied smugly, inclining her head towards a row of eateries not far off.

"Are you this frontal with all your approaches towards girls?" Emily retort with a hint of irritation. She barely knew this Paige and the girl's behaviour_would normally_ irk her but no, instead she feels this growing attraction towards the cocky redhead and it makes her exasperated but simultaneously making her speechless with their close proximity.

"Won't you like to find out" came Paige's reply. Normally such a reply would have made anyone like Emily Fields turn tail and run in the opposite direction. Yet the expression accompanying the statement was honest if not with a fleeting look of vulnerability attached to it.

"So what do you say? How about that dinner date?" Paige repeated her question as the brunette continued to stare at her with a quizzical look on her face.

"Fine.. I haven't eaten anyway. But just so we are clear, you are paying" Emily replied finally with a slight shake of her head. This is frustrating. She had no idea why she said yes to Paige, it was like an invitation to the devil's den so to speak but there was that unexplainable pull she felt towards the girl along with the nagging curiosity as to what makes Paige so attractive besides her looks. There was just something out there and Emily could feel the overwhelming urge to find out just exactly what _it_ was.

If Eros really existed, he would be spotting a smile so wide while looking down at the two girls. It is hardly that two very diverse individuals find their way to each other in a setting such as this. But occasionally fate is a strange thing indeed.


End file.
